The Beaver-Saving County

The Re-Introduction of Beavers on Woodland Valley Farm, Cornwall

Beavers were once a native species to the UK, though they became extinct 400 years ago due to hunting. In recent years however, there has been a big desire to bring back this much-loved species so we can call them a native UK species once again!

On February 9th 2018, Chris Jones, an innovative farmer from the Woodland Valley Farm Trust in Cornwall, came to Bangor University to inform us of the amazing (and highly effective!) beaver conservation work he is doing down in Cornwall!

Chris Jones from Woodland Valley Farm Image Source: twitter.com/CornwallBeaver

The Project:

A 5 acre forested area with adjacent stream near Ladock, in Cornwall, was the main site for the re-introduction of the beavers.

Chris described how 1 male and 1 female beaver were released on June 16th 2017 and in only a matter of days they has already begun constructing a dam, with noticeable changes to the dam occurring every week after this!

After 32 weeks, the programme had proven to be of great significance:

• 4 large dams had been constructed
• 2 further ponds had been created
• The stream had been divided into 2 separate brooks
• The female was pregnant! (unconfirmed but believed to be true)

 

Cornwall Beaver Project: The Story so far, featuring Chris Jones, guest lecturer to Bangor University
Video Source: YouTube

Why this Conservation Plan in particular?

Chris explained that there are numerous benefits that can be taken from this programme if fully successful, in particular:

• Increased hope that the beaver can be adopted legally as a native species
• Contribute towards evidence supporting the beaver as an important ‘gate-way’ and ‘keystone’ wetland species
• Dam building will help prevent flooding in the local village of Ladock and surrounding wildlife habitats
• Reversal of environmental damage to the Cornish Countryside
• Restoration of the stream’s ecological health, filtering the water and essentially trapping away soil sediment and pollutants.

 

Image Source: http://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-wildlife-magazine

 

Partners:

• Woodland Valley Trust
• Cornwall Wildlife Trust
• Professor Richard Brazier from the University of Exeter
• Dr Paul Kemp from Southampton University
• Various teams of Volunteers and helpers

 

Future Prospects:

As with any successful re-introduction programme, a number of exciting questions can be asked when looking into the future…

Will the kits be born next spring?

Will dam and lodge building progress?

Will the abundance and diversity of wildlife increase?

 

Make sure to keep yourselves up to date on this project to find out the answers to these and any other questions you may have!

 

My Opinions on the Talk

Chris Jones was a highly informative, entertaining and enticing presenter and his Q&A session at the end of the talk offered further study information and possible negative impacts of the project.

I would highly recommend watching the video attached onto this blog.

 

Any Future Career Changes?

I now understand the importance of re-introduction programmes on habitat ecology, biodiversity and flood protection, so would love to find out more about the various projects which are being done across the UK.

I am also now really keen to witness these projects first hand and applying for some volunteering opportunities which may present themselves in the future.